May Gay House receives money for renovations
Decatur's iconic May Gay House will begin getting its first significant renovation in over 30 years, thanks to a gift from Fidelity Bank.
Although the amount of the donation wasn't revealed, the DeKalb Junior League, which is headquartered in the May Gay House, set a fundraising goal of $175,000 for “major repairs and improvements.” These include waterproofing the basement, rebuilding a patio, re-sloping the backyard and redesigning the kitchen.
Built in the early 1820s, the May Gay House is one of DeKalb County’s oldest homes. Originally located near Decatur’s square, it was moved to its current location on Trinity Place in 1979. It was the longtime home of May A. H. Gay (1829-1918), who's best known for her 1892 first-person account of the Civil War, “Life in Dixie During the War.” The work was an important source for Margaret Mitchell in writing “Gone With the Wind.”
